Arabian Drilling signs $800m contract for 11 land rigs

01/09/2026 04:00 AST

Saudi-listed Arabian Drilling Co. signed a five-year contract worth about SR3 billion ($800 million) with SLB Middle East to provide 11 land rigs for integrated gas drilling operations.

The contract, signed Aug. 30, covers rigs that were previously deployed under an integrated gas drilling project with SLB, according to a statement to the Saudi Exchange.

The agreement is expected to begin contributing to Arabian Drilling's revenue in the third quarter of 2026 and support utilization of its land-rig fleet throughout the contract period.

The deal comes as Arabian Drilling expands outside Saudi Arabia while recovering from the temporary suspension of offshore drilling operations earlier this year.

Fahad Albani, CEO of Arabian Drilling, said: "We are pleased to sign this strategic contract with SLB, reaffirming our long-standing relationship and providing greater visibility over future revenues."

He added: "This contract reflects the confidence our client places in Arabian Drilling's operational performance, service quality and commitment to safe and efficient execution. We remain focused on supporting our customers' long-term objectives, contributing to the Kingdom's energy sector development and creating sustainable value for our shareholders."

The company said the agreement strengthens revenue visibility and its long-term operational backlog.

SLB is one of Arabian Drilling's major shareholders and is therefore a related party to the contract.

Regional expansion
Earlier in August, Arabian Drilling announced that it had signed a contract with a new client in another Gulf Cooperation Council market, marking its entry into a new regional market as the drilling contractor expands its offshore operations beyond Saudi Arabia.

The company initially did not disclose the client or value of the contract, saying operations were expected to begin before the end of the third quarter of 2026.

An Aug. 19 addendum to the announcement disclosed that Arabian Drilling signed the contract with Masirah Oil Limited and Northern Offshore Ltd. on Aug. 17 to drill two firm wells and two optional wells in Oman. The contract is valued at less than 5 percent of the company's total revenue based on its audited 2025 financial statements.

The contract follows the successful early completion of Arabian Drilling's first international offshore drilling contract and the redeployment of its jack-up rig to another GCC market.

Resumption of offshore operations
In August, Arabian Drilling said it would resume work on all temporarily suspended offshore rigs by the end of September.

The company had halted operations on some of its offshore rigs in the GCC region in March as a precautionary measure when the conflict involving Israel, the US and Iran escalated.

On Aug. 12, the company said it had received notices to resume operations for its remaining suspended offshore rigs and expected offshore fleet utilization to reach 100 percent by the end of the third quarter.

Arab News